Subscribe Feed (RSS)When arranging funding for college, you or your parents are probably tapping your savings, 529 college fund, considering private student loans and/or Stafford loans, and you may be looking at other borrowing opportunities. Though borrowing money for college can help you get the education that you 
want, keeping your debt to a manageable level is a wise decision.
Getting Free Money For College
Two areas of assistance that are worth considering are grants and scholarships. Grants, such as the Federal Pell Grant program and whatever state programs are available to you should be explored. These funds, if you are a recipient, never have to be repaid. Whatever monies are awarded to you come right off the top of your tuition bill.
Scholarships work the same way though their availability can be limited, have strings attached, and in some cases other restrictions may apply. However, billions of dollars of scholarship money is up for grabs each year, something you should pursue when weighing your funding options.
Virtually every type of student can obtain a scholarship, not just the Dean’s List students or other academic leaders. Certainly, the better the grades, the more scholarship opportunities available to you, but not every opportunity is available to students just because they excelled academically.
Finding College Scholarships
There are a number of ways you can find college scholarships including:
Your Guidance Counselor — Your best contact at school for college assistance is your guidance counselor. She will know what local scholarships are available to you and what the eligibility requirements are. Visit her early in the school year to obtain that information from her; you may be required to submit a lengthy essay and apply by a certain date.
Search The Web — Beyond your school’s database, there are thousands upon thousands of places where you can find scholarships. Do a Google search for “college scholarships” and you’ll uncover an amazing variety of offerings out there. Visit our Search Scholarships page for more information and read our Fun and Wacky College Scholarships You Never Knew About article for some offbeat suggestions.
Ask Relatives — Companies will often extend scholarship money to children of their workers and, in some cases, to grandchildren or other relatives. If a parent works for a union, part of the dues they pay may be set aside to provide scholarship money to children like you.
Check With Your Club, Group, Church, Association — Membership has it benefits, therefore if you or your parents belong to a civic organization, church, community group, or even a specific ethnic group, you could qualify for a special scholarship. Some scholarships cater to young Latino males, others are for women returning to school, and still others to former members of the military. There are endless scholarships out there for every type of student imaginable.
Apply Early And Often!
Finally, when applying for scholarships, apply for as many as possible. Follow the instructions explicitly and be patient. Though many college scholarships are awarded toward the end of the academic year, others are awarded on a rolling basis or throughout the year. You may not get money for this September, but you could be awarded a scholarship for January, next summer, or even for the following academic year.
Tags: college, college scholarships, Federal Pell Grant, financial aid, grants, stafford loans, Student Loans, university
If you are planning to take out one or more student loans to pay for your college education, you may find the thought of carrying thousands of dollars of debt post graduation as an uncomfortable decision. After all, you want to get the education you need to get into the career you want, but paying off loans for many years thereafter can have an unsettling effect on your psyche.
